Image
Third Chestnut Street Theatre, 1211 Chestnut Street, 1898.
Credit: Courtesy of the Free Library of Philadelphia, Print and Picture Collection
"The Chestnut Street Theatre's long history began in 1794, when the theater was first built at Chestnut Street and 6th. The building shown here was the third theater known by this name, and was opened in 1863 after the second building (at 6th) was closed in 1855. Its manager was William Wheatley, a former actor turned manager (he also managed Niblo's Garden in New York, where he produced The Black Crook in 1866). The attraction featured in this photograph is Charles Hoyt's play A Day and a Night. The signboard near the entrance announced John J. McNally's A Reign of Error, with the Rogers Brothers. Next to the theater, left, is the old Concert Hall, which had become the location of the Free Library."–OPEP, p. 141.